Ice Concentration Prevention Mechanism

ABSTRACT

An ice concentration prevention mechanism and ice dam dissipation system includes at least one pole, at least one bucket, a set of pulleys and at least one cable mechanism. The bucket is attached to the pole and the line. The pulley is at the end of the pole. The line is run through the pulley and used by the operator to control the bucket.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application takes priority from and claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/208,233 filed on Aug. 21, 2015,the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT

All of the material in this patent document is subject to copyrightprotection under the copyright laws of the United States and othercountries. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimilereproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure,as it appears in official governmental records but, otherwise, all othercopyright rights whatsoever are reserved.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The subject invention relates to an ice melting equipment and moreparticularly equipment to prevent the accumulation and concentration ofice in edifice gutters and other such drainage systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Description of Concurrent Art

During extreme weather conditions, ice is known to accumulate withindrainage systems, including pipes, gutters and other fluid routingsystems.

An ice dam is a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof andprevents melting snow and water from draining off the roof. The waterthat backs up behind the dam can leak into a home and cause damage towalls, ceilings, insulation and other areas.

Ice dams are formed by a complex interaction among the amount of heatloss from a house, snow cover, and outside temperatures. The combinationof these factors lead to ice dam formation. For an ice dam to form theremust be snow on the roof and, simultaneously, higher portions of theroof's outside surface must be above 32° F. while lower surfaces arebelow 32° F. For a portion of the roof to be below 32° F., outsidetemperatures must also be below 32° F. When describing temperaturesbeing above or below 32° F., usually these temperatures are an averagetemperature over sustained periods of time. Snow on a roof surface thatis above 32° F. will melt. As water flows down the roof it reaches theportion of the roof that is below 32° F. and refreezes. The result: oncethe melted water refreezes it creates an ice dam.

An ice dam grows as it is fed by the melting snow above it. The damlimits itself to the portion of the roof where the average temperatureis below 32° F. Therefore, the water above the dam backs up behind theice dam and remains in liquid form. This liquid water finds cracks andopenings in the exterior of the roof covering and then flows into theattic space of a house. From the attic, the water can then flow intoexterior walls or through the ceiling insulation. If enough water buildsup damage to the roof can occur including the roof collapsing. If enoughwater leaks through the roof, the result can be catastrophic, causing,in some circumstances, extreme flooding and severe damage to the homeand to interior property.

Prevention of ice dams forming on roofs is a very important step forhomeowners to consider every winter. One way to prevent ice dams is toremove snow from the roof. When heavy snowfall occurs, this task usuallyrequires homeowners to climb atop their roofs and rake, broom, push, andshovel in order to remove the snow. This type of removal can causedamage to the roofing materials especially if a homeowner does notunderstand the proper ways to remove the snow without harming the roof.Furthermore, any person on a roof during the winter is risking seriousinjury and sometimes death.

In addition, there are methods to remove the snow from ground level.However, using a roof rake to remove snow from below on ground level isalso risking human injury and risking damage to the roof, gutter system,wiring, and house. For many, it is recommended that homeowners do notperform the snow removal themselves but it is advised that homeownersshould contact professionals to carry out the snow removal job. However,hiring professionals every time it snows, especially in regions wheresnowfall can be continuous for months on end, has proven to be costlyand many homeowners do not seek help until it is too late and theirhomes have suffered irreparable damage.

In addition, homeowners who are unable to pay a professional to removethe snow ultimately either leave the snow on the roof risking theformation of ice dams or they attempt to remove the snow themselves. Asstated above, this task has proven to be dangerous and can also causesevere and expensive property damage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In its broadest interpretation, this disclosure describes an iceconcentration prevention mechanism, the methods and systems for the iceconcentration prevention mechanism, a primary goal of which is toprovide a mechanism that will overcome the shortcomings of theconcurrent art.

Briefly stated, in one embodiment, the present system contemplates anice concentration prevention mechanism comprising a pole, a pulley, abucket, and a line. The bucket is attached to the pole and the line. Thepulley is at the end of the pole. The line is run through the pulley andused by the operator to control the bucket.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certainillustrative aspects are described herein in connection with thefollowing description and the annexed drawings. These aspects areindicative of the various ways in which the principles disclosed hereincan be practiced and all aspects and equivalents thereof are intended tobe within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Other advantages andnovel features will become apparent from the following detaileddescription when considered in conjunction with the drawings.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more importantfeatures of the ice concentration prevention mechanism in order that thedetailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, andin order that the present contribution to the art may be betterappreciated. There are additional features of the mechanism that will bedescribed hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of theclaims appended hereto.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the systemin detail, it is to be understood that the mechanism is not limited inits application to the details of construction and to the arrangementsof the components set forth in the following description or illustratedin the drawings. The system is capable of other embodiments and of beingpracticed and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understoodthat the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purposeof description and should not be regarded as limiting.

These together with other objects of the mechanism, along with thevarious features of novelty, which characterize the system, are pointedout with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part ofthis disclosure. For a better understanding of the system, its operatingadvantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, referenceshould be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter inwhich there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the system.

The foregoing has outlined the more pertinent and important features ofthe present mechanism in order that the detailed description of themechanism that follows may be better understood, and the presentcontributions to the art may be more fully appreciated. It is of coursenot possible to describe every conceivable combination of componentsand/or methodologies, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognizethat many further combinations or permutations are possible.Accordingly, the novel architecture described below is intended toembrace all such alterations, modifications, and variations that fallwithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

In one aspect, the present mechanism provides an ice concentrationprevention mechanism, particularly for ice and snow removal from gutterstructures and roofs, which includes a pole, a pulley, a bucket, and aline. Another aspect of the present invention provides an iceconcentration prevention mechanism that is compact. In another aspect,the invention provides an ice concentration prevention mechanism that isless expensive than current methods. In another aspect, the inventionprovides an ice concentration prevention mechanism that is efficient. Inyet another aspect, the invention provides an ice concentrationprevention mechanism that is safer than current methods used for snowand ice removal from gutter structures and roofs.

Realizing one aspect of the invention is an ice concentration preventionmechanism that aids in the removal of ice and snow from gutterstructures, is a lighter, more efficient, safer, and less expensivedevice.

The subject invention features at least one extendable pole. There is atleast one pulley system. There is at least one bucket device. There isat least one line. The bucket device is attached to the extendable poleby the line. The pulley system may attach at the end of the extendablepole. The line is then run through the pulley system and used to operatethe mechanism by the user who can adjust and control the movement of thebucket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Advantages of the present mechanism will be apparent from the followingdetailed description of exemplary embodiments thereof, which descriptionshould be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich: Having thus described the system in general terms, reference willnow be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarilydrawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of an embodiment of an ice concentrationprevention mechanism;

FIG. 2 illustrates a front view of an embodiment of the iceconcentration prevention mechanism without the line or bucket;

FIG. 3 illustrates a side view of one embodiment of the iceconcentration prevention mechanism; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross section of a one-and-a-half story house witha formed ice dam.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of presently preferred embodimentsof the system and does not represent the only forms in which the presentsystem may be constructed and/or utilized. The description sets forththe functions and the sequence of steps for constructing and operatingthe system in connection with the illustrated embodiments.

Turning now descriptively to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a frontview of the ice concentration prevention mechanism 1. The iceconcentration prevention mechanism 1 comprises a pole 4, a pulley 8, abucket 6, and a cable mechanism, wire rope mechanism or rope mechanism2. One end 12 of the rope 2 is attached to a wall of the bucket 6. Therope 2 is laced through the pulley 8. In this embodiment the rope 2 isalso laced through a set of eye bolts 10, however in other embodimentsthe rope 2 is only laced through the pulley 8. The pulley 8 is attachedto an end arm 14 which extends from the pole 4 at a 90 degree angle. Thebucket 6 is attached to a bucket arm 18 which extends from the pole 4 ata 90 degree angle. The bucket 6 is secured to the bucket arm with a nut16.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the ice concentration preventionmechanism 1 without the bucket 6 or rope 2 attached.

FIG. 3 illustrates a side view of one embodiment of an ice concentrationprevention mechanism 1. Similar to FIG. 1, the ice concentrationprevention mechanism comprises of a pole 4, with a pulley 8 attached tothe pole, a bucket 6, and a rope 2. One end 12 of the rope 2 is attachedto a wall of the bucket 6. The rope 2 is laced through the pulley 8. Inthis embodiment the rope 2 is also laced through an eyebolt 10. Thepulley is attached to an end arm 14, which extends from the pole 4. Thebucket 6 is attached to a bucket arm (not shown), which extends from thepole 4. The bucket 6 is secured to the bucket arm with a nut 16.

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross section of a one-and-a-half story house witha formed ice dam 25. Ice dams form at the edge of the roof 27. Thereusually is a heat source warming the roof elsewhere causing the snow 29to melt and relocate to the edge of the roof where it refreezes into anice dam 25. The heat source that warms the roof primarily usually comesfrom the house. In rare instances solar heat gain from the sun may causetemperature differences on a roof too.

Heat from the house travels to the roof surface in three ways:conduction 31, convection 33, and radiation 35. Conduction 31 is heatenergy traveling through a solid. Convection 33 is heat transfer by massmotion of a fluid such as air when the heated fluid if caused to moveaway from the source of heat, carrying energy with it. Convection abovea hot surface occurs because hot air expands, becomes less dense, andrises. Radiation 35 occurs from heat produced by the sun. Heattransferred from the sun to the roof is a type of radiation. Anotherexample of radiation occurs when heat is transferred from an energysource by electromagnetic waves.

In a house, heat moves through the ceiling and insulation by conduction31 through the slanted portion of the ceiling 37. The top surface of theinsulation is warmer than the other surroundings in the attic.Therefore, the air just above the insulation is heated and rises,carrying heat by convection 33 to the roof. The higher temperatures inthe insulation's top surface compared to the roof sheathing transfersheat outward by radiation 35.

There is another type of convection that transfers heat to the atticspace and warms the roof. Heat can be released by air leakage in theroof too. The heat that escapes warms and melts the snow 29. The meltedsnow then flows down the roof and reaches a portion of the roof that isbelow freezing, usually the edge of the roof 27. The newly frozen icecreates an ice dam 25 at the edge of the roof 27. The ice dam 25continues to grow as more melted snow feeds it. The dam will be limitedthough to the portions of the roof that have average temperatures below32° F. Therefore, melted snow becomes damned water 39. This water backsup behind the ice dam 25 and remains liquid 39. This water finds cracksand opening in the exterior roof covering and then flows and leaks 41into attic space.

Furthermore, the ice dam 25 can weigh down the edge of the roof 27 andcause dangerous icicles 43. If the ice dam 25 becomes large enough itcan cause roof collapses or cause the gutter to be torn away from theedge of the roof 27.

Although specific features of the invention are shown in some drawingsand not in others, this is for convenience only as each feature may becombined with any or all of the other features in accordance with theinvention.

Other embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art and are withinthe following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An ice concentration prevention mechanismcomprising of: at least one pole; at least one bucket; a set of pulleys;and at least one rope, wherein the at least one rope is routed throughthe set of pulleys and attaches to the at least one bucket.
 2. The iceconcentration prevention mechanism of claim 1 further comprising a setof eye bolts.
 3. The ice concentration prevention mechanism of claim 1wherein the set of pulleys attaches to the at least one pole.
 4. The iceconcentration prevention mechanism of claim 1 wherein the at least onerope further comprises two ends, a first end and a second end, whereinthe first end laced around the set of pulleys and down the length of theat least one pole and the second end of the at least one rope isattached to at least one wall of the at least one bucket.
 5. The iceconcentration prevention mechanism of claim 1, wherein the first end ofthe at least one rope is laced through the set of pulleys.
 6. The iceconcentration prevention mechanism of claim 1, wherein the at least onepole further comprises at least one end arm that extends from the atleast one pole.
 7. The ice concentration prevention mechanism of claim6, wherein the at least one end arm extends from the at least one poleat a ninety degree angle.
 8. The ice concentration prevention mechanismof claim 1, where the at least one pole further comprises at least onebucket arm that extends from the at least one pole.
 9. The iceconcentration prevention mechanism of claim 8, where the at least onebucket arm extends from the at least one pole at a ninety degree angle.10. The ice concentration prevention mechanism of claim 1, where the atleast one bucket is attached to the at least one bucket arm that extendsfrom the pole.
 11. The ice concentration prevention mechanism of claim1, where the at least one bucket is secured to the at least one bucketarm with at least one securing mechanism.
 12. The ice concentrationprevention mechanism of claim 11, where the at least one securingmechanism selected from the group consisting of nuts, bolts, and screws.13. A method of operating the ice concentration prevention mechanism ofclaim 1 comprising the steps of: using the first end of an at least onerope, pulling the first end of the at least one rope to actuate a set ofpulleys, ambulating across an area below ice formation, and disseminateda metered amount of ice melting chemical evenly on the ice formation.